Mom

In Memory of Ruth Crosby (May 20, 1922- March 20, 2006) This column originally appeared on Mother's Day, 2000.

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An Open Letter To My Mother

Dear Mom,

Thank you for giving birth to me. With all the horrible things one reads and hears
about everyday, the inequities and injustices, the personal heartaches we all go through, the
setbacks in our lives, and even the sickness and suffering, I still believe the world we live
in is a wonderful, beautiful place. I am grateful every single day to be a part of it ... and
I thank you.

Thank you for loving me enough to teach me right from wrong. For bringing me up to
believe in G-d. For instilling in me strong moral principles based on the Ten Commandments.
For teaching me my Jewish heritage and making me proud of it. You gave me a sense of
Jewishness, a love of G-d, a reverence for G-d's laws, and an understanding and respect of
moral and ethical principles along with your love. All of those shaped my character and helped
to make me a better person.

Thank you for always being there for me. I don't mean just in spirit and moral support
(you always gave me that), but for physically being there for me. As a kid, the best part
about going to school, was knowing that at the end of the day you would be there when I came
home. As a little boy it was comforting for me to know that my mom was around if I needed her.

It's still comforting for me to know that — even now as a middle-aged man.

Thank you for all the time you spent with me. For reading to me every day and night
when I was a baby and little boy. For singing songs to me. For bathing me and tucking me into
bed. For playing with me. For taking such good care of me when I was sick — like bringing me
comic books, and dot to dot puzzle books and other surprises to make me feel better. And
making me hot soup (or whatever I wanted) for lunch.

Thank you for being such a good audience whenever I put on a puppet show or made a
haunted house out of my bedroom. Thank you for acting in my home movie productions. Thank
you for having the patience to put up with all the crazy things I did and all the phases I went
through growing up.

Thank you for sticking with me through the really bad times. For never giving up on me
no matter what.

JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a
letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.